I hate to disappoint you, but rather than not saying anything I do want to provide an update on my recent conversation with United CEO Oscar Munoz.

I was invited to a cocktail reception in Los Angeles featuring the United CEO as well as United’s new President of California, Janet Lamkin. The event coincided with the groundbreaking ceremony at the Los Angeles Memorial Collesium, which will be named the United Airlines Memorial Coliseum starting next year. United paid $69,000,000 for a 16-year naming rights deal.

The Coliseum is home to the USC Trojans, the alma mater of Munoz, and will host the Rams NFL teams (while their own stadiums are built) as well as track and field events for the Summer Olympic Games in 2028.

Our shared purpose as an airline is to connect people and help unite the world. From now on, the United Airlines Memorial Coliseum will be a symbol of that mission.

That’s a lofty goal, but Lamkin insisted that investing in the community would yield tangible result and that investment in the customer experience and investment in the community are not mutually exclusive.

The reception was held at the Otium restaurant in Los Angeles and featured a panel discussion, primarily focusing on the the Coliseum project. Food was excellent in case you are looking for a good restaurant in Downtown LA.

My Conversation with Oscar Munoz

After the panel discussion I had plenty of time to speak to Munoz…and I did. But not on the questions I had prepared for.

Munoz was remarkably candid speaking about his health. I was chatting with someone else when Munoz came up to us. The man asked Munoz how his “new ticker” was doing (recall, Munoz had heart transplant surgery in 2016). Munoz went on to talk about his health and family in a very personal way for several minutes. I’m not going to share details of that conversation because I don’t want to reward Munoz’s openness by publishing personal matters shared in confidnece.

After that conversation, it simply did not feel like the appropriate time to start quizzing Munoz on retrofits, JFK, lounge progress, and the broken website.

A trio of United reps at the event did confirm the SFO Polaris Lounge will open this summer and the LAX Polaris Lounge this fall. That concedes with this Polaris Tracker that also promises lounge openings in Houston and Newark this summer–

CONCLUSION

The good news is that I’m confident there will be future opportunities to explore these issues with Munoz. But my last meeting was not the time.

About Author

Matthew

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he
travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 120
countries over the last decade. Working both in the aviation industry
and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in the New York
Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, BBC, Fox News,
CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Al Jazeera, Toronto Star, and on NPR. Studying
international relations, American government, and later obtaining a
law degree, Matthew has a plethora of knowledge outside the travel
industry that leads to a unique writing perspective. He has served in
the United States Air Force, on Capitol Hill, and in the White House.
His Live and Let's Fly blog shares the latest news in the airline
industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs and promotions, and
detailed reports of his worldwide travel. His writings on
penandpassport.com offer more general musings on life from the eyes of a frequent traveler. He also founded awardexpert.com, a
highly-personalized consulting service that aids clients in the
effective use of their credit card points and frequent flyer miles.
Clients range from retirees seeking to carefully use their nest egg of
points to multinational corporations entrusting Matthew with the
direction and coordination of company travel.

You are a really bad journalist. You let Oscar throw you a personal story about his health, which meant that he successfully played the sympathy card.

You then threw in the towel by not asking him any of the questions your readers wanted you to ask him. Why not just approach the questions in a respectful but firm manner? “Mr. Munoz, my readers and I wish you luck with your health. We do have a few questions and would appreciate your views. First….”

Instead you asked him none of these questions that you had specifically solicited! It’s very disappointing.

Matthew, you waisted an opportunity to challenge his beliefs and opinions. Oscar failed in his role and his promise to improve the customer service of the business class experience with this move, and he shows no apology? There was your opportunity to call him out, express your disappointment, and you didn’t do that.

My friend, you are now faced with the task of making it up to us. You state “I hate to disappoint you,” but the fact is that I wasn’t satisfied with the peace. You are a pro at writing great, interesting peaces, and I have no doubt that you will ultimately do exactly that, and ultimately you won’t fail at your next opportunity to talk to him. At least, I have to commend you for being honest with us and telling us that, I’d be a lot angrier if I found this out through the grapevine rather than from your blog. I still believe in you.

Matthew, very disappointed…
Please don’t hype these interviews without delivering a single answer or any insight whatsoever…
Really like your blog, but feel like I wasted 5 minutes by clicking on this ‘story’, yet learning nothing of what was advertised…

I have met Oscar as well, like him personally…hence respect your decision.
But…you must expect many of your readers to be disappointed/ feel misled…